We chat with debut author Lakita Wilson about Last Chance Dance, which follows Leila who is devastated when her high school boyfriend breaks up with her right before graduation, but when she gets paired with four unrequited crushes in the lead-up to her school’s annual Last Chance Dance, she might just fall in love with someone new.
Hi, Lakita! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Lakita and I’m from the DMV, which means I was born in DC, grew up in Maryland, and drive out to Virginia for special events. By day, I split my time between teaching at a college in Maryland, and writing for young children and teens. My reading preferences tend to be a bit scattered, so I haven’t quite been able to stick to writing in one genre or category either. I love researching history and diving into non-fiction projects, but I also adore creating fictional characters for my novels. When I’m not writing, I’m usually traveling, trying new restaurants with friends, or falling deeply in love with a Netflix reality show or Hulu documentary.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve been writing stories since I was around six or seven years old. I was also fortunate that my elementary school cared very deeply about creative expression. I lived for Write-a-Book as a kid. Every year, each student wrote a picture book, brought in a cereal box from home, and then bound everything together to “publish” their story. We displayed those books in the school library and there was even a contest. I think I may have taken those Write-a-Book projects as seriously as I do my stories today!
I began writing again as an adult in 2017. I wanted to write stories about children that I didn’t see on shelves growing up. Too many of us grew up in a representation desert—clinging to the handful of characters who looked like us in media. Thankfully, many readers grew up and decided to create the characters we needed to see growing up, and it feels good that future generations will have more to choose from on shelves.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
Ramona the Brave. I was a busy, curious, talkative child. I needed to see a girl like Ramona with real kid feelings: jealousy, anger, disappointment, regret. It was the age-appropriate drama I lived for as a kid.
Your debut YA novel, Last Chance Dance, is out February 21st! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
New Beginnings can be fun!
What can readers expect?
Readers can expect to laugh a little. I definitely poked fun at bad first dates, and high expectations not living up to the hype. I love the fact that the hottest guy you’ve ever laid eyes on, might turn out to be kind of annoying. Or the superwoke classmate may not give you the spark you were hoping for. Dating is a game of risks and spotty payoffs. Sometimes things go completely off the rails, and sometimes we hit the jackpot. But, we have to be brave enough to put ourselves out there.
Despite the “lol” moments, I like the heart threads of the story, where the reader gets to see Leila at her most vulnerable. Allowing this type of vulnerability helps Leila dig deeper into who she is and what she likes.
Where did the inspiration for Last Chance Dance come from?
Honestly? Thinking every breakup was the end of the road, and then finding new crushes or relationships that were totally worth the previous heartache.
I don’t know why it is human nature to believe that there is only one true love out there for us. But each new relationship I have proves that people come and go, but there is no limit on how many times we are capable of finding love.
I have to remember that sometimes, so I figured someone else might need a reminder, too.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I don’t want to reveal who Leila ultimately ends up with, but I can say which of her two matches I had the most fun creating.
Kai Ballard. Part-time Instagram model/Full time hottie/Subpar student/Health Enthusiast. Kai was my way of poking fun at people taking social media posts and “aesthetics” a little too seriously (which I’m guilty of sometimes, too. Feel free to side-eye me, lol). Kai is featured in some of my most unserious moments in the book, and honestly, I did it to make myself laugh. Don’t judge me, lol.
I created Tre’ Hillman, because he’s the kind of person I would have gone for in high school—totally. The kind of silly that makes the teacher fight to keep a straight face. I love funny people—especially jokers who are secret softies when you get to know them.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey of getting Last Chance Dance published?
I began writing LAST CHANCE DANCE in 2019, if you can believe it. This book has been quite the journey. So much so, that I had to set it aside for awhile to write my middle grade novel, BE REAL MACY WEAVER. I didn’t know how all the pieces of LAST CHANCE DANCE fit together for the longest time. On one editorial call, I even proposed a complete rewrite featuring a dying grandma (cringe).
Dying family members are fine, if that’s the theme of your book. For LAST CHANCE DANCE, I had to remember that the book started off with big heartbreak. Readers get their sad moment immediately. The purpose of this book isn’t to stay in that sad place, though.
This isn’t to say that Leila didn’t discover more disappointment as the story went on, but there’s a big emphasis on, “heartbreak heals”. To show this journey, I had to dive into people and events that could pull Leila toward happy.
Once I fully understood this, my revising process became more productive and true to the books theme.
Do you have any advice for those who may have set some writing resolutions for the new year?
My biggest advice is that we should rebrand “writing resolutions”. The word resolution feels as strict as Ms. Trunchbull from MATILDA. It’s rare that I ever neatly check off everything on my yearly list. Instead, I think writers should treat our writing goals list like a living, breathing document that changes and evolves according to how our year is going. Did you start on that YA Historical Romance last month, just to discover that you will scream if you have to research the year 1905 one more time? Don’t put yourself through the torture of finishing an uninspiring project just to say you finished something. Do what feels right to you. Devote your time to what feels most exciting.
At the end of the year, talley up what you have accomplished. How many pages did you write? How far have you gotten on that one project you doubted you would ever start in January? Finding ways to celebrate ourselves more will help ease that naggy writer’s guilt.
However, if you’re under contract, and a strict deadline, please, by all means, let the Ms. Trunchbull vibes fly.
What’s next for you?
It feels like I have been hopping back and forth between non-fiction, middle grade and young adult since the beginning of time. In non-fiction, I have a project about the Underground Railroad coming. In Middle grade, I have a novel about a sixth-grader named Sparkle losing her hair. Right after learning she’s been chosen for a juicy part in a school production, she’s diagnosed with alopecia. That will be on shelves October 24, 2023. In YA, I can’t say much about the project that’s coming, but I can say that the theme will center getting what you ask for—and regretting it, lol. That should be out in 2024.
Lastly, are there any 2023 book releases our readers should look out for?
OMG. SO many! I have been reading my eyes out.
I am currently reading THE DAVENPORTS by Krystal Marquis, and I’m already swept away in this world of African American wealth in the early 1900’s. Before this book becomes a smash hit everywhere, I just want everyone to know my favorite character is Helen.
- BLOOD DEBTS by Terry Benton Walker
- THE LOVE MATCH by Priyanka Taslim
- IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY by Becky Abertalli
- THE MINUS ONE CLUB by Kekla Magoon
- FRIDAY, I’M IN LOVE by Camryn Garrett
- REGGIE AND DELILAH’S YEAR OF FALLING by Elise Bryant
